I'm so pissed off at the video game industry... except for you, FarSight.

[DarkAkatosh]

The way I look at it is that hardcore gamers buy games regularly, keep up with new releases, follow gaming news regularly, especially the major conventions, and it goes on. Casual gamers do none of those things. They just pick up whatever and play it. They don't care about what's going on in the heart of the industry. What games are played by those two gamer subcategories are irrelevant to me when defining them.

I see people are talking about another crash. In all honesty, I see it happening on the console side. Too many bigtime devs have migrated over to PC, MAC, and mobile platforms. It's much easier to get your product out to gamers on Steam or what have you due to a much less picky approval process, as well as free patches. It costs $40,000 to patch a console game, according to Tim Schafer.

Really we don't need consoles anymore. We just don't. People need to stop buying into them and the console market should eventually die out. There isn't anything on a console that you can't do on a PC anymore. Consoles are no longer pure game playing machines. They're entertainment mediums. And because of that, they've lost all purpose.

 

[superballs]

Really we don't need consoles anymore. We just don't. People need to stop buying into them and the console market should eventually die out. There isn't anything on a console that you can't do on a PC anymore. Consoles are no longer pure game playing machines. They're entertainment mediums. And because of that, they've lost all purpose.

I agree with this. I've felt that the Gamecube was the last pure game console. I'll give a nod to the XBOX because you actually had to purchase the DVD remote to make it anything other than a console and the music that you ripped could be used in a lot of games.

 

[Fuseball]

I would argue that we do still need consoles as the cost of buying and maintaining a gaming rig PC is prohibitive to many of us. It was the constant need to upgrade some element or other of it every time I bought a game that lead to abandon it as a gaming platform some years ago. I also prefer gaming on my TV in the comfort of my lounge as opposed to a monitor in my study.

That said, I agree that consoles have been compromised as gaming platforms by their desire to be an entertainment hub, which is all about selling us music/video content through PSN/Live. I like to think of myself as a very discerning casual gamer. I don't have the time or youthful desire to be a hardcore gamer anymore, but my taste in games leans towards the abstract/artistic end (Flower/Journey/Shadow of the Colossus/Rez/Okami etc.) or blisteringly tough (Dark Souls/Robotron 2084/Ikaruga etc.).

Completely with you on the Gamecube being the last pure game console. Loved that little purple box. It was also the last console I bothered to grey import.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Thanks for the reviews guys =) got gw2 last night and really enjoying it

Just as an interesting observation, I ran all the way from Divinity's Reach to Lion's Arch last night, and as far as I can estimate, Tyria in GW2 is approximately 400 square miles. Not bad, considering Skyrim is only 16, and the original WoW was only 80. After seven years of expansions, I believe WoW is estimated at about 350 square miles after MoP. Honestly, GW2 is difficult to get an exact measurement on because of the underwater areas, caves, vertical cities, and rectangular zoning, but I don't think anyone would debate its enormity since it's difficult to walk twenty feet in any direction without having more stuff to do. There isn't much filler space, whereas a large majority of MMOs have large plots of unexplorable land or dead zones with next to zero content. LotR Online, for example, claims a whopping 30,000 square miles, but most of the Middle Earth map is blocked off, undeveloped, or just plain empty. I've played a ton of MMOs and open-world RPGs, but I have never seen a world that FELT as enormous or alive as GW2.

And congrats Ryan, I'm glad you're enjoying the game.

Also, if you want to read a funny comparison between GW2 and pinball (yes, pinball) follow the link below. Maybe there IS a logical reason for me jumping between a massive online RPG and the smaller, more focused TPA!

http://techland.time.com/2012/08/28/guild-wars-2-its-the-pinball-machine-of-mmos/

I think what the editor WANTED to say was this -- like a pinball machine, GW2 bounces you all over a large map, constantly picking up new goals and activating events while completing others. There is a lot more depth than what's immediately apparent, and each player will have their preferred approach. Also, like pinball, you can never seem to do everything you aim for in a single game/sitting, but it's always so fun and exhilarating that you want to come back for more. And like pinball, it's extremely addictive.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

It's been too long since I posted a list of some sort, so here's one that focuses on the strongest development of the seventh generation -- open-world fantasy RPGs (including the best MMOs). I'm a real sucker for character creation and rewarding exploration, but the sub-genre hasn't really had the hardware to reach its full potential until the current generation:

Top 25 Open-World Fantasy RPGs of the 7th Generation
01) Demon’s Souls / Dark Souls [take your pick]
02) Guild Wars 2
03) The Elder Scolls V: Skyrim
04) Dragon Age: Origins
05) The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
06) Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
07) Fable II
08) Xenoblade Chronicles
09) Final Fantasy XIII-2
10) Dragon’s Dogma
11) White Knight Chronicles II
12) TERA
13) Monster Hunter Tri
14) Aion
15) Radiant Historia
16) Nier
17) Age of Conan
18) Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
19) Runes of Magic
20) Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
21) Risen
22) Two Worlds II
23) Venetica
24) Rift
25) Arcania: Gothic 4

I've played them all, and honestly, only the top half still deserve your attention. We've seen this type of game explode in popularity over the last seven years, and with games like Demon's Souls and Guild Wars 2 constantly evolving/refining the expectations for them, we're likely to see plenty as we enter the eighth generation, as well.

By the way, I would've placed Vindictus in the top 10, since it's a huge personal favorite, but it just doesn't seem to fit this list as it isn't a true open-world RPG (more of an advanced dungeon crawler with online multiplayer and some killer fashionista customization!). It's also a download-only free-to-play game, unlike all of the others that have seen some sort of retail release.

 

[Mike Reitmeyer]

Well, there goes the Android development schedule...

Ryan convinced me to get it. So nothing will get done now.

I don't think consoles need to go away. The manufacturers just need to rethink how to handle downloadable games and make it more accessible.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Really we don't need consoles anymore. We just don't. People need to stop buying into them and the console market should eventually die out. There isn't anything on a console that you can't do on a PC anymore. Consoles are no longer pure game playing machines. They're entertainment mediums. And because of that, they've lost all purpose.

If it weren't for sports games, I wouldn't own any consoles, but you just can't get the best sports games on PC, unfortunately.

 

[BonzoGonzo]

same with shootemups(cave), fighting games (virtua fighter, tekken, blazblue), and last but not least japanese rpg's (dragon quest, resonance of fate)...

besides out of some 55+ games i own for my xbox360, only 7 are retail/disc versions... everything else is xbla stuff

consoles are just less fuss to work with... you just plug it in, maybe install your game to hd, and thats that...

no need to wory if you program/game is going to work with your current setup, nor that the program/game will suddenly refuse to open just becouse you installed some new stuff and it somehow messed sth up... i.e. suddenly directx9.0c crashes your program/game but worked with dx9.b just fine, only to find out you cant uninstall the 9.0c... or the newest video driver messes up the full screen you tube for no apparent reason, so you have to revert to the previous version... wellm stuff liek that...

and you can also take your console pretty much everywhere wehere there is some kind of a tv screen/monitor -> you just put it in your backpack and all you need are 2 cables to take with you (power and tv output)

plus to purchase online stuff you don't actually need a credit card, becouse you can buy points for online stores in physical ones (stores that is)...

so yeah, whole console experience is very hassle free

 

[laughing_lunatic]

I agree with BonzoGonzo 100%. The plug-and-play aspect of consoles will always appeal. PC's can be a pain in the ***. Maintaining the latest drivers, which break what wasn't broken before, so you have to roll back, but you forget to do a clean install so there's fragments left over from the broken driver, so you have to boot into safe mode, launch a driver cleaner, clean up the registry (average gamers will know all this, right ??), then reboot and do a clean install of the old drivers...etc, etc... And don't forget, hard drives WILL go bad. It's not a question of if, but when. I had to rebuild the OS from a boot drive failure just this last weekend. PC's can be a lot of faffing.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

On the other hand, at least there's the option to fix a PC yourself if it goes on the fritz. The Red Ring of Death is considerably harder to deal with from a DIY standpoint.

 

[Jeff Strong]

The only thing I don't like about PC gaming is keeping up with the latest hardware. For the price of a new video card, you can buy a PS3/360 and still have some money left over for games.....and the diehard PC guys buy new video cards at least every couple years (I know a few who even buy a new one every year)...and that's just the video card.... When you buy a console, you don't have to upgrade it, and it will usually last you more than a couple years.

But I still love PC gaming, and because you have access to newer hardware, the graphics will always be several steps ahead of consoles.

 

[laughing_lunatic]

For the price of a new video card, you can buy a PS3/360 and still have some money left over for games.....

True... my GTX670 4GB cost not far short of $600... My total current build is around $2500...

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

I had a hard time picking classes (especially cause you can only have 5 without expanding your charcter slots). I decided to skip on mesmer (deleted mine at level 3, I didnt like the clone mechanic) Ranger (went engineer for the ranged physical dmg class but I normally play rangers so I want to try this one out) and necromancer (played one till level 8/9 on my wife's account, was ok but not great).

I'm really liking Elementalist and Guardian. Thief and Engineer are cool as well but still only level 3, not sure on the Warrior (a bit run-of-the-mill).

What did others pick?

I'm actually thinking about Necromancer, because I was one of the "solo the world" Red Mages back on FF11 so the enemies-die-slowly-but-you-can-afford-the-wait style of play is something I'm familiar with. That, and these necromancers seem to be considerably hardier than the stereotypical ones found in other games.

Anyone who's played one, whether you liked it or not: Am I perceiving the class correctly as geared toward an attrition playstyle? I'm not really interested in non-mages, the mesmer thing just looks weird to me, and elementalists seem to be the more factory-stock mage class. So it's kind of necro or bust...I'd like to get an idea before I spend the money.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I'm a Mesmer, and I love it.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Please promise me, no matter how frustrated we might get with delays and bugs, that we never will stoop to the level of sending a cake full of bugs to the dev team. (Although I must admit, it is kind of clever.)

Guild Wars 2 Forum - Necromancer - The cake is not a lie

Incidentally, the D3 forums are in open revolt (though that's nothing new), half the GW2 world seems unhappy, and of course we're familiar with TPA's Facebook page. Is no one happy to have games to play anymore?

 

[Kolchak357]

Too funny!

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Please promise me, no matter how frustrated we might get with delays and bugs, that we never will stoop to the level of sending a cake full of bugs to the dev team. (Although I must admit, it is kind of clever.)

Guild Wars 2 Forum - Necromancer - The cake is not a lie

Incidentally, the D3 forums are in open revolt (though that's nothing new), half the GW2 world seems unhappy, and of course we're familiar with TPA's Facebook page. Is no one happy to have games to play anymore?

I'm plenty happy with The Pinball Arcade, Vindictus, and Guild Wars 2 right now. All three have some unrelenting detractors, but that's just a symptom of the internet-driven player entitlement that has characterized this generation. The people who most appreciate those games often have the least to say online, since they're content with actually playing the titles they love instead of *****ing about them. That's another reason that I'm amazed we actually get some stuff accomplished on this forum, but then again, TPA is far from an average game project.